Man arrested after poaching abalone

A man was arrested just 30 minutes after the City of Cape Town received a tip-off that he was allegedly removing abalone from rocks at Melkbosstrand.

The City of Cape Town’s law enforcement officers nabbed the 28-year-old suspected poacher on Wednesday last week when they found a total of 64 abalone in his possession.

JP Smith, mayoral committee member for safety and security, says officers almost immediately commenced with a stop and search operation in the area.

“A complaint was laid by a member of the public about a man who had illegally removed abalone from the rocks close to the Melkbosstrand Integrated Rapid Transport office,” he explains.

“Law enforcement officers investigated the complaint and soon apprehended the suspect when they found a man with a black backpack filled with abalone, as well as the tools used to remove it from the rocks. Poaching of abalone is a criminal offence and suspects are detained at the police station for court appearances.

“If suspects are found guilty, the magistrate will impose sentence.”

Smith continued by thanking the community for their support and hoped the arrests will serve as a warning to other would-be poachers.

“We are watching and will work tirelessly with our partners to eradicate this practice,” he concluded.

The team of volunteers at the anti-poaching unit (APU) in Melkbosstrand fight the scourge of poaching on a continual basis, but they cannot do it along and need the community to lend their help.

“We hold various fund-raisers every year for the local Neighbourhood Watch, and from there some of the funds are channelled to the APU.

“The next fund-raiser will be a golf day on 7 November at Atlantic Beach.”

According to van der Merwe it is easy for the public to get behind something like rhino poaching, but abalone poaching is just as important.

“The abalone found along the Western Cape coastline are the only of its kind in the world, and current projections indicate that these abalone could be extinct within five years if something drastic isn’t done. People must also realise that poaching goes hand-in-hand with other organised crimes such as the drug trade, prostitution and money laundering. One often finds that criminals don’t trade money, but trade in product instead.”

Van der Merwe adds that another way people can get involved in putting a stop to poaching is to become the “eyes and ears” of the APU or law enforcement.

“As soon as they see someone suspicious along the coast who might be involved in poaching they should contact us or the city immediately,” urges van der Merwe.

***DISCLAIMER: THIS ARTICLE WAS PUBLISHED IN TYGERBURGER, A CAPE TOWN BASED MEDIA24 COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER. IT MAY NOT BE DUPLICATED WITHOUT ACCREDITING THE SOURCE – TYGERBURGER, MEDIA24.***